Jer: Mont Blanc

Shame on me for taking so long to begin what I knew would be quite the adventure in the kitchen. Had I started when Elaine posted this months ago I would have been able to enjoy this wonderful dessert several times during this intensely hot summer. To be honest, the words caramel, brittle, nougatine and piping just scared me given how weak my pastry chef skills are. I defintely was challenged in the kitchen but the result was an amazing flavor punch dessert which all four of us at dinner tonight just went crazy over. A while back I had toyed with the idea of purchasing an ice cream maker. Now I know I don’t have to buy one as there is a wonderful alternative called Mont Blanc, as well as the Italian semifreddo which I will now need to attempt.

I used almonds instead of hazelnuts and didn’t create a shell and a filling. All the flavors were so nice that I wanted every bite to have a little of it all instead of just those bites with the nougatine center. So I folded all the almond brittle nougatine into the mouse and put a healthy serving into each of eight ramekins. Also, I allowed the syrup that I mixed into my egg whites to caramelize a bit which provided a deep sweet taste to the mousse and a beautiful coffee color.

The mont blanc was truly wonderful and everyone devoured their serving. Big wow factor with guests as Kate mentioned. Next time I will also fold in some roughly chopped dark chocolate and enjoy a French version of my favorite jamoca almond fudge from Baskin Robins!